About the Author: Keith Henry serves as a Public Affairs Officer at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
Reporters gathered yesterday to see recently completed Ares I-X flight hardware on display at NASA Langley Research Center. The hardware, which was designed and built at Langley, is engineered to represent the outer surface of Orion crew module and a launch abort system that will increase crew safety on the Ares I rocket. Next week, the rocket hardware pieces will be shipped from Langley to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The simulated crew module and launch abort system will complete the nose of the rocket. As many as 150 sensors on the hardware will measure aerodynamic pressure and temperature at the nose of the rocket and contribute to measurements of vehicle acceleration and angle of attack.
The data will help NASA understand whether the design is safe and stable in flight, a question that must be answered before astronauts begin traveling into orbit and beyond.
See construction videos and images on the Ares I-X Web site.
Media Day Photo: While workers put the finishing touches on the Launch Abort System, left, and Crew Module simulators, reporters interviewed project officials and photographers and videographers captured the moment. The rocket elements are being placed on special flatbed trailers which will be rolled onto an Air Force C-5 for a two-hour flight to NASA Kennedy Space Center Jan. 28.
It was very exciting to take a peek at America’s potential next generation shuttle! It does look very retro in many repects to the Apollo mission rockets.
I am especially curious about three items. First, how will this new crew carrier return to earth? Will it also parachute down as did the Apollo missions? Second, safety is an obvious concern because a LAS is part of the design. But, God forbid another disaster like Challenger or Columbia, how long would it take the crew to evacuate from the regular crew section to the LAS? Finally, how much will the per pound (kilogram) cost be reduced to carry cargo into space?
I can hardly wait for the first test flight this year! Goodluck to all of you!
Lets look at the Top 8 Risks for Ares-I as of December 8th — Which we should note is AFTER the PDR:
1 4×5 RED First Stage Thrust Oscillation
2 4×5 RED Common Bulkhead Manufacturing and Assembly
3 5×3 RED Unfunded ISDS Requirement
4 4×3 YELLOW Ability of Ares-I to meet its Performance Requirements
5 4×3 YELLOW Launch Vehicle Operability
6 5×2 YELLOW Ares-I First Stage-Upper Stage Staging Re-contact
7 5×3 RED Contact with the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) During Liftoff
8 5×2 YELLOW J-2X Development Schedule for 2012 DCR
NASA needs to put a stop to ARES now. Don’t let these “media days” fool you. “The Stick” should be cancelled now, and a true ESAS study needs to be conducted to consider ALL the alternatives.
I second the opinion that an independent review of Constellation needs to be done. The Ares I and V are no longer Shuttle derived. They require new infrastructure, costly development, and are not as safe as first imagined.
Ares has strayed from the safe, simple, soon path, and something needs to be done.
It is time for the agency to look back on the decisions made up to this point, and ask whether Ares is the best way forward. It is time to put personal opinions and politics aside and truly select the best launch vehicle option. Whether that is Ares, EELV, or Direct needs to be decided by an independent review board.
mission risks:
brittle O ring
fuel leak
oxygen tank rupture
heat sheild rupture
don’t let media stop you
use international astronauts